Development

As I walked about the premier bonsai show in Taiwan, several things fell into place. Firstly, it was apparent why the Japanese thought so highly of Taiwanese bonsai. They don’t feel that way of many places, South Korea is one of the few others. By the time I’d finished walking the show, I’d decided that […]

This tree is too tall. And the branches are a bit leggy, too. One of the problems we get into in bonsai design is that with time and growth, height and branch length can begin pulling us away from the trunk. Literally destroying the design, making it weaker. And this tree has a nice trunk, […]

Tam Juniper, Juniperus sabina ‘Tamariscifolia’, is a commonly planted conifer for foundations and gardens. The foliage grows upright from the branch, giving it a sprightly appearance. Once upon a time this Tam Juniper had a mirror image partner…it was a multiple trunk plant connected at the base, and we separated it long ago in a study group. […]

The first tree in this photo essay is a whimsical juniper that used to be a needle juniper. Although my client enjoyed the needle juniper, it wasn’t doing very well where he lived and was getting weaker. I gave him a few options, and he decided we’d ‘change the clothes’ of the tree, so to […]

…which could either be a salmon returning up a river, or simply a bad movie title…? It’s neither. The Fish is yet another convenient, somewhat silly, ‘name’ for a Rocky Mountain Juniper that was featured here over a year ago when it was first styled. We did a three-part, real-time posting of it back then: […]

Several have asked to see a photo recap of this chunky Burning Bush, Euonymus alatus. We (my students and I) started the process of turning this vigorous stump of a shrub into a bonsai in 2012. The fella who collected this Burning Bush said that it was growing by the side of a pond where […]

The last time we talked about Matt Reel he’d just finished a staggering 7 year 9 month apprenticeship with Shinji Suzuki. When I opened my January 2015 issue of the Japanese bonsai magazine Kinbon, there was Matt, standing next to a very fine juniper that he’d worked on as an apprentice. If you figure Matt is […]

This tree has developed quite a bit in the last few years. The exposed roots have grown in size, and the development of the branches made our re-tweaking a bit more complete. Konnor is a client who tosses a few trees in a car and drives across several state lines to spend a few days […]

This is one of those trees I’ve had in my yard a long time, and never done a follow-up post about. For one thing, it’s so large it’s hard to photograph. For another, I just didn’t get around to it. All of the trunks come from one base; it’s one tree. The snows are so […]

This sweet little pine has been in the Puget Sound (Northwestern USA) area since 1989. It was collected by John Muth. Some of you might remember it from the 1992 cover of Bonsai Clubs International. I remember seeing it in a bonsai exhibition years ago in Seattle, sitting off in a corner, looking quite distinguished. […]